1. Technical Field
The invention relates to sealing cracks in cement, concrete and masonry.
2. Background Art
Concrete, cement and masonry walls often develop cracks due to settling of a building, which causes stressing of the wall. Propagation of the cracks is enhanced by leakage of water into the crack, such as often results in the basement of homes. It is a common practice to repair these cracks and holes in concrete, cement or masonry walls by filling the openings with a filler or sealant, such as caulk, which is initially in a fluid or plastic state and subsequently hardens when exposed to air. These prior art sealing systems often employ a sealant which is injected into a crack under a high pressure so that a sealing material is injected into the holes or cracks. For example, in the Alberts U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,309 issued Apr. 25, 1978, a method for sealing cracks or cavities is disclosed wherein ports are driven into a wall which is sealed outwardly and connected to a pressurized vacuum source. This vacuum source draws water present in the cracks out through the holes. A sealing material, such as cement, epoxy, tar or silicate-based sealants, is then drawn into the cracks where it is allowed to harden.
In the Simonson U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,346, issued Dec. 21, 1965, void or delaminated areas of terrazzo floors or concrete slabs are repaired with a liquid epoxy resin. Repair holes are drilled through the surface of the floor to the void spaces to provide for the attachment of fittings which complement a pressure-gun nozzle placed in the repair holes. The liquid epoxy resin bonding composition is pumped under high pressure into the voids through the repair hole until the composition flows into and out from the adjacent holes.
In the Watts U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,720, issued Mar. 7, 1972, cracks or joints which are below ground level in a concrete structure are sealed by a process wherein a strip of material is bonded over the crack to form a channel extending along the crack. Fittings are inserted in the strips and air is pumped into the channels to determine the amount of leakage. Subsequently, an epoxy sealer is prepared and pumped under pressure through the fittings into the channels to fill and seal the cracks. The known filler sealants are generally difficult and inconvenient to apply unless pressurized by the injection tools used to pump the sealant into the cracks.
Furthermore, several systems employ multicomposition sealant fillers for repairing concrete or masonry structures. These sealants need be admixed and then applied to the crack. In the Basile U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,771, issued Nov. 4, 1975, for example, the first compound is a paste-like material formed of a water-based acrylic latex or caulking material having a sand dispersion. The second compound is a paste-like material which includes Portland cement and bentonite in a polyhydric alcohol. The two compounds are separately packaged and are admixed and applied to a work area to form a plug within a crack.
The prior art sealing systems tend to use a sealant filler that possess characteristics substantially similar to that of concrete when hardened. These prior art sealant fillers will form a filler which cannot respond to further movement of the wall. When the wall does move, the sealant filler may crack or other cracks will be created due to the sealant's lack of flexibility or elasticity. Thus, crack propagation will not be eliminated. The prior art sealing systems do not repair cracks simply, inexpensively and conveniently and require the use of pressurized injection tools. The sealant compounds used in these systems are not injected so as to deeply penetrate into a crack. Finally, such sealant compounds do not have the flexibility needed to accommodate wall movement after the sealant has set within the crack.